I Want You

Losing Grip

He hated being in the passenger seat. Miranda was doing an okay job, but she wasn't going fast enough for him. Which was probably for the best. Ben exhaled. "So, tell me what he said again," she said as they sat at a red light, distracting him for a second.

Tapping his knee, he took another breath. "He said that she fell and that..." He sighed. "And that she was unconscious." Ben looked at her as she took in the information. He could see the wheels turning in her head. "But he didn't say which... who... if it was his wife, Paige... or, or... or my goddaughter, Ava." Ben licked his lips grateful that they were pulling into the hospital.

Miranda stopped. "You go. I'll park."

"Thank you," he said getting out and running. He didn't know where to go, so he called Knox while he was on the elevator. There was no answer and Ben returned to the front desk. No Knox's had been admitted and Ben felt so helpless. He called Knox again and it went straight to voicemail. Ben was seconds from causing a scene. His best friend needed him and he was so close, and aside from running from floor to floor, he couldn't slow his brain down to actually figure out what to do.

"Ben!" Miranda called out walking through the door. "What are you doing here?"

He stared into her brown eyes. "I don't..."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the busy Emergency Room. "Knox," she said to one of the head nurses whose name Ben couldn't remember.

"Right over there, Dr. Bailey," they said.

"Thank you." The two of them walked over and when Justin saw them, he jumped up. The two men hugged.

"You're here."

"Of course, I am." Ben looked around the tiny space and saw Ava asleep in a chair and he released the breath he'd been holding. If anything had happened to the girl, he would be so distraught. "Paige?" Justin nodded. "What happened?"

His friend sighed and shrugged. "She was standing on the little... uh, the little stool thing getting something from the cabinet, you know, and she fell."

"What?"

"Yeah, I was right there. She didn't stumble or anything... just fell—passed out. And then she knocked her head against the stool on the way down. So, I called the ambulance. And, of course, Ava was crying and screaming..."

"Jesus." Miranda squeezed his hand. And he really appreciated that she was there. Knox needed to lean on him and he needed someone to lean on as well. Paige was one of his closest friends. She just had to be okay. "Shit."

"So, what did they say?"

"Who's the doctor?" Miranda asked. Ben looked down at her, happy that she was about to take charge. "And which nurses?"

"Uh, Shepherd and O'Malley. And Tyler and Olivia have both been in."

"Good, good," she said nodding. "Let me go and see what I can find out." He kissed her hand before she left.

When she was gone, Ben moved next to Ava, rubbing her head. "What was that?" Knox said.

"What was what?" He asked looking down at his goddaughter, so glad that she was safe.

"You and Dr. Bailey. The holding of hands, the kissing of hands. What the hell, Warren?"

Ben furrowed his brow. "Your wife is somewhere getting poked and prodded and you're worrying about me and my love life?"

"Love life!"

"Shhhh!" Ben told him flapping his hand. "Damn!"

"And I need to take my mind off that exact thing. Because if I think about not being able to help my wife, about not being with her, I will freak out." Ben watched Knox's chest move up and down and he nodded. "Okay?"